Ethan
Channeling arcane currents into small tabletop games | PREQUEL, Chain×Link, Fetch my Blade, Estate of Play | glyphtide.games
- Finished reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. There is a love in the playing of games, and the making of games.
- Lately, I haven't been in the mood to create, but to absorb. I've been watching more TV, reading a new book, and (rather unexpectedly for me,) playing a computer game (near obsessively). When I am engrossed in stories, I have a profound feeling to...feel.
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- May all your zines be funded and all your backers, loyal.
- TIL the Latin term for "raisin" literally means, "a grape that has suffered." I think that's beautiful.
- Reposted by EthanJust one more day to get this showcase bundle of 8 very cool games from the Playtest Zero community at 50% - includes work from me, @andrewgillis.bsky.social, @cutestpatoot.itch.io, @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social, @kobanya.bsky.social, and @yanahn.bsky.social. itch.io/b/3476/showc...
- It was only after the hydropower pumps were installed and Battam Lake became Battery Lake did they gain the name. Surge Crabs. The crustaceans adapted to a new tidal pattern, one based not on the moon, but on when the city consumed more electricity than it generated.
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- Exploit tools of tyranny to support your rebellions and invoke ancient rites to escape this megadungeon with your closest rivals! Play Chain×Link, a semi-cooperating dungeon-defying RPG! Buy it here: glyphtide.games/chainxlink/
- Bioluminescent honeybees in symbiosis with glass-spinning spiders to create fiber optic networks that infiltrate ecologically-extractive technology.
- I have donated an amount equivalent to the revenue I have received from Chain×Link to the Minnesota Immigrant Rapid Response Fund. This growing cruelty must be stopped.
- Reposted by EthanIn tabletop rpg design, sometimes gameplay doesn't come from the mechanics we add, but the ones we omit. www.explorersdesign.com/dominant-mec...
- Extremely valuable!
- Reposted by EthanFantasy in My Backyard, my map-labeling game that uses real cities, is launching on Zine Month in 13 Days! If you've ever thought, "damn it would be so cool to run an rpg campaign in [insert city]" this is the game for you! Free fully playable preview now available! Bit.ly/backyard-teaser-bsky
- Reposted by EthanRTFM, the (an) RPG book club podcast, is back from hibernation. @snaxwell.bsky.social and I talk about This is Where the Stars Died by Scott Malthouse, "a non-linear narrative wargame." What does that mean? What's a war game? Am I supposed to be painting small men? open.spotify.com/episode/5ow2...
- Host Personas are critical to life in Neo Avaria. Access civic services through DungeonSpace, play the popular game Dice Delvers, and duel opponents to win Bytes...all by rolling and clashing your Host Dice. But is there something more sinister behind the code? Hack, Slash, Return.
- Cloud Empress by @worldsbywatt.bsky.social arrived this weekend! Ecological Science-Fantasy is a genre I want to spend more time in. Can't wait to delve into this!
- Maybe the reason that I'm so drawn to City of Winter and it's Traditions is because I'm a child of diaspora and I was somehow expected to know these things without ever taught them, let alone surrounded by them. 🤔
- Fetch My Blade is back in stock at IPR! www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Fetch-...
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- Stumbled upon this youtube review of PREQUEL! Always cool to see people talking and playing the game! www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HL4...
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- Reposted by EthanI will never ever ever ever ever get over the feeling of getting to hold my games in my hands! Soothwardens QuickStart coming soon with the help of @plusoneexp.bsky.social 👀
- Experiencing heavy cognitive dissonance attending a showing of Hamilton right now.
- Reposted by EthanIf you've been holding off on buying the DIE RPG by @kierongillen.bsky.social, because how could a mere RPG be as good as his DIE comic, well a) it IS as good as his comic and b) it's less than $15 @bundleofholding.com until Monday so well done good talk everyone bundleofholding.com/presents/DIE...
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- Reposted by EthanThings I love in TTRPGs #125: Waypoints that aren't inns or taverns along major thoroughfares where you can stop for the night. Roadside shrines, little crofter's lean-tos, maintained and marked campsites with dry firewood. Places that show signs of habitation. People already there seeking shelter.
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- You succeed if your roll is greater than or equal to the previous player's roll. Chain your rolls together, adding the scores, to overcome Trials. If one fails, you all fail. And only the highest roll gets the spoils. That's the mechanic. That's the world. That's the game.
- Reposted by EthanI’m starting a series on ways to use dice in your TTRPGs. Here’s the first: River dice! idlecartulary.com/2026/01/08/r...
- PREQUEL is a tactical storytelling game of heroic sacrifice. Play as the first heroes to take on a great evil. You will fall, but you are not the end. glyphtide.games/prequel/
- In case you missed it, I wrote a blog post on examining how to use tabletop roleplaying game setup more similar to videogame tutorials.
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- First blog post of the new year! How can we make the setup of our tabletop roleplaying games more like videogame tutorials? Featuring @ehronlime.bsky.social's Ithaca In the Cards: Second Expedition!
- Reposted by EthanWe are looking for Zine Month creators to feature on Talk of the Table! Please please please fill out this form so we can talk to you about your cool new game!
- Still not sure if Overclock the Dungeon is the name I want to stick with. Which is emblematic of writing this game. Finding the right combination of words to evoke an "anime cyber-fantasy" feel is becoming a road block to the worldbuilding.
- Reposted by EthanWe are kicking off the 2026 Playtest Zero season with our annual #ShowcaseZero event for 2025. We’ll have several gamemakers showcase works from last year and talk about their process. Watch it live this weekend at twitch.tv/ehronlime on 9 Jan 2026 6 pm PST/9 pm EST, 10 Jan 2026 10 am (GMT+8)!
- --INITIALIZING PROGRAM... >>OVERCLOCK THE DUNGEON
- Reposted by EthanThe Bloggies 2026 submissions are now open! Submit your favorite posts, series, and debut blogs via the official Bloggies page between now and Jan 31st! Please share this around. I'll be making regular Bloggies-themed announcements throughout the month. www.explorersdesign.com/bloggies-2026/
- It's an honor to receive bronze in Best Roleplaying Game for Chain×Link! Thank you so much to @idlecartulary.itch.io for reviewing the game! Be sure to also check out @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social's Spine and @aethercorp.games's Field Agent's Handbooks.
- The second being the Idle Cartulary Awards for Excellence in Elfgames, featuring my favourite things of 2025! What were the best modules? Games? Books? Podcasts? Find out here! idlecartulary.com/2026/01/01/i...
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- I don't want to hear about your reflections for this year or resolutions for next year. I want to hear about your CHARACTER's reflections for this year and resolutions for next year.
- Shout-out to the person who bought all my itch games last night. I hope you enjoy them!
- Reposted by Ethantune in thursday afternoon to watch some of the best to do it play The Locked Room Murder Mystery Game. i'm excited to see it!
- Join us at 3pm ET on the 1st of January for a New Year's LIVE AT THE TABLE - @notquitereal.bsky.social, @carberry.deals, and @sylvibullet.bsky.social will be playing the ashcan edition of @adambell.games's Locked Room Murder Mystery lockedroomgame.com twitch.tv/friendsatthetable
- Been enjoying sitting in the coffeeshop reading indie TTRPGs. First, it was TORQ by @willjobst.bsky.social. Now, it's Greenhorns by @spicytunarpg.bsky.social.
- Reposted by EthanThe Endtimes Trilogy is coming to #zinetopia & #zinemonth in February! Follow the page now! I'm bringing three interesting new tabletop rpgs about the end of the world. They play great standalone, or pair nicely as a three part apocalyptic anthology. www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
- Reposted by EthanJoin us at 3pm ET on the 1st of January for a New Year's LIVE AT THE TABLE - @notquitereal.bsky.social, @carberry.deals, and @sylvibullet.bsky.social will be playing the ashcan edition of @adambell.games's Locked Room Murder Mystery lockedroomgame.com twitch.tv/friendsatthetable
- In case you missed it, I released a semi-cooperative dungeon-defying RPG this year. Your successes depend on each other. glyphtide.games/chainxlink/
- Reposted by EthanMy End of Year video is on the "Golden Age of Indie RPGs," from roughly 2010 to 2025. I start with Apocalypse World's release, work through the Google+ Era, and follow design lineages and historical events that have impacted the hobby up through 2025.
- I think people would be genuinely surprised by how bad I am at chess given how much time I play it. System mastery is not my kind of fun apparently 😅
- Reposted by EthanIntroducing the faces behind Whole New World 🐻 Hey it’s me! I’m happy to announce officially that I’m one of the co-producers of our next upcoming project: Whole New World! It’s been such fun bringing this project to life and I can’t wait to share more with you 👀 Art by: @4threset.bsky.social
- New Chain×Link magic system idea: Orizite Circle Magic Instead of targeting >= Previous Contribution Score, target getting the FIRST Contribution Score of the Trial (thus, "closing the circle"). Then add +N to the Total Contribution where N is the number of contributions in the circle.
- Only Murders in the Building Starring: Steve Martin Martin Short And Short Steve
- Does anyone have examples of anime-esque sci-fi GUIs that aren't against a black background? Preferably a white or lighter colored background? Less dark cyberpunk, more shounen?
